In 1969, Paul Newman and Robert Redford jumped from rooftop to rooftop on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad cars after a train heist, before taking their notorious leap from Bakers Bridge into the Animas River in “Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid.”
Fascination with the two outlaws, the train and America’s untamed country continues as the Travel Channel films the pilot episode of “Wild Wild Quest,” which aims to solve the mysteries of the lawless West.
TV crews were aboard the passenger-loaded train at 479 Main Avenue on Thursday morning, northward bound for Silverton.
“We’re asking the question: Did Butch Cassidy die in Bolivia? Or did he fake his own death?” said episode host and local businessman Brit Eaton.
“His bones were dug up in Bolivia, but – I don’t want to give the rest away.”
If the pilot is successful, the show secures a 26-episode contract.
Eaton, who has worked in television before and dealt vintage wear to movie stars via Carpe Denim, said the topics of future episodes are unclear.
The train returned to Durango at 2:45 p.m., when crews filmed a staged robbery in the train yard.
Railroad marketing specialist Yvonne Lashmett said 341 passengers, just seven below capacity, packed the train on Thursday for the Narrow Gauge’s annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration, which includes live music.
jpace@durangoherald.com
